It was a home game, but it didn’t feel like it once he stepped on the mound with easily 80 percent of the crowd of 34,706 wanting him to fail and cheering for the hitters he was facing.
The uniform he was forced to wear looked like something out of a Class D slow pitch softball league in North Dakota with the name “Top Sheff” on the back.
And, well, he was about one hitter away from not getting out of an interminable, pitch-filled first inning of his first major-league start.
Normal or simple wasn’t going to happen for Justus Sheffield on Friday night at T-Mobile Park.